Many passenger seats such as those on passenger aircraft, buses, trains, and the like are designed to incorporate trays to allow a passenger to rest a drink, meal, computer, or other items during travel. In some instances, a tray table may be stowed in the passenger seat armrest or console and be deployable for use by a passenger. The tray table is deployed by the passenger to provide a relatively flat surface for eating, working, recreation, or other uses.
In order to save space, many tray tables and cocktail trays are mounted on articulating or rotating arms that allow them to be stowed in the armrest or console of the passenger seat. An armrest or console door is generally used to cover the tray table or cocktail tray when it is stowed and to close the space in the armrest or console when the tray table or cocktail tray is deployed. The door is generally hinged on the side of the armrest or console that is farther away from the passenger to allow the door to pivot up and away from the passenger so he or she may deploy the tray table. In some instances, a tray table and a cocktail table may both be present on the passenger seat.
Conventional deployable tray table designs with hinged doors that pivot up and away from the passenger suffer from a number of disadvantages. The hinge for the door, which is often concealed within the passenger seat arm or console, provides an obstruction to the deployable tray table that compromises its stowed position and its movement into and out of the console or armrest. The presence of the door hinge pushes the deployable table closer to the center of the seat, resulting in wasted space inside the console or armrest. In addition to the obstruction caused by the hinge, the movement of the door during deployment or stowage of the tray table can be problematic. Because the door pivots up, it can impede on the movement of the tray table as it is being deployed. Oftentimes a passenger is required to open the door, partially deploy the tray table, close the door, and then finish deploying the tray table. In other words, the movement of the tray table is not wholly separate from the movement of the door during deployment or stowage.
Many conventional tray table designs also include a separate, moveable cocktail tray to hold drinks or other small items separately from the main tray table. The cocktail tray generally requires additional mechanisms to rotate or pivot the tray into and out of position, increasing the complexity, cost, and weight of the passenger seat. Also, the presence of a cocktail tray in addition to a tray table can result in compromised packaging and/or design of the cocktail tray and/or tray table.
Recently, there has been a movement in the carrier industries to provide more stowage space for personal items, especially personal electronics devices like cellular phones, tablet computers, or laptop computers. As a result, there is movement among common carriers to reduce wasted space and increase storage options. In particular, the elimination of unused space in the passenger seat armrest and console can provide opportunities for new storage areas or increased passenger space.
The present invention discloses, among other things, a console or armrest door that opens laterally or to the side with an optional integrated cocktail tray. A side opening door offers a number of advantages over the traditional console or armrest doors that pivot up on a hinge. First, since the side opening door opens away from the outer edge of the console or armrest, relative to the passenger, the tray may be stowed and deployed in a position further outboard than is possible with a traditional console or armrest door. The tray can be moved into a space that was previously unoccupied and open up space in the armrest or console that is closer to the passenger. This newly opened space closer to the passenger can be converted into a console or armrest pocket to provide storage options for the passenger. In particular, this new console or armrest storage pocket may be ideally suited to the storage of personal electronic devices, such as cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, or the like. Alternatively, this extra space could be utilized to provide additional hip room for increased passenger comfort.
A side opening console or armrest door also simplifies the deployment and stowage of the tray table for a passenger. Unlike pivoting doors that open upwards, the side opening door provides enhanced clearance to allow a passenger to fully deploy the tray table while the console or armrest door is in the open position.
Thus, in some instances it may be desirable to provide a cocktail tray that is integrated into the armrest or console doors. An integrated cocktail tray may reduce weight, complexity, and prevent interference between two deploying trays and tray deployment mechanisms on a single passenger seat. Also, a cocktail tray integrated into an armrest or console door does need to be deployed or stowed, so it is always available to the passenger. This is especially useful for passenger aircraft, where most trays must be stowed during taxi, takeoff, and landing.